Why you reportedly won't be seeing Chevy's Camaro doing the NASCAR roundy-round
There are people who have been waiting to find out if Chevrolet's new Camaro is going to be doing the NASCAR rounds and ovals, and yesterday General Motors' head of motorsport issued the answer: No. Why not? Because GM wants the Camaro to look like a Camaro when it races, not like that NASCAR Mustang that was rolled out a week ago.
GM's Mark Kent said that because of "the need to have templated bodies in that series, we felt that by forcing the Camaro into the Nationwide templates that we were compromising the body lines of an iconic car." Instead, Bumblebee could be headed to the KONI Challenge series or drag racing with the NHRA. No disrespect to NASCAR, but they'll be places where you can see racing Camaros instead of racing stickers.
[Source: Orlando Sentinel]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 4)
hashiryu 11:36AM (8/05/2009)
If stock car racing actually went back to being STOCK car racing, then this would not even be an issue.
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kfractal 11:41AM (8/05/2009)
if they did that they might have to feed design choices back to the original STOCK car so that they'd race better. gasp. what a concept.
TigerMil 11:45AM (8/05/2009)
Yeah...and then you'd see stuff like Grumpy Jenkins 7/8" scale 'stock' car and whatever factory abominations that show up that no one on the street can ever buy.
Simple rule...run what you brung but you gotta sell 500 of them to the car buying public.
Oh yeah...that's called homologation. A little something BMW forgot about when they first dominated one class of racing with their V8 3-series. LOL!
Joe 11:56AM (8/05/2009)
Yeah - so Pratt & Miller get to build a half-dozen special GT Camaros for high-end customers.
GM has money to go racing?
GM (GM Performance Parts) has money to support other teams buying their cars to go racing?
GM has money and/or desire to create their own series?
Best of luck.
Holden Miecranc 12:30PM (8/05/2009)
@ TigerMil
Smokey Yunik built the 7/8 Chevelle, not Grumpy Jenkins. Jenkins built / drove Chevy's for the drag strip.
Grandeos 11:40AM (8/05/2009)
If you wont say it Autoblog... then I will.... "NASCAR SUCKS!"
And GM obviously realizes the lame-ness since they will not let the series destroy their new icon! The further away they can space the new Camaro from the rednecks of old' the better!
If GM wants to survive, they need to distance themselves from all bad connotations of the past. Good decision!
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Frank 1:10PM (8/05/2009)
Nice. do you have any other bigoted stereotypes you would like to share with us?
Mr Clickerson 2:18PM (8/05/2009)
I'm a redneck... I don't like NASCAR... Is there a problem here?
You don't have to be an inbreeding, white trash, technological fool who lives out in the middle of nowhere to be a redneck.
Frank 2:43PM (8/05/2009)
If you knew anything about NASCAR you know that it's run by a bunch of corporate suits who have nothing in common with you or I. Judging from the turn out at non-southern tracks like New Hampshire, Pocono, Chicago, and California, it seems like a lot of fans are not "rednecks". Maybe they are just "wops" or "wasps" or "spics" or "micks". Maybe someday we won't try to use derisive labels on anyone.
Ray 4:26PM (8/05/2009)
Don't forget that the current 3 time (running) champion is from El Cajon California. Or maybe one of their drivers is from Columbia. Redneck has been used way too much now. Not everybody that isn't from Jersey or it's immediate neighbors are rednecks you know.
TigerMil 11:43AM (8/05/2009)
No disrespect to NASCAR?! ROFLMAO...NASCAR elicits its own disrespect merely by existing, much as F1 with its own artificial rules.
Someone needs to form an unlimited roadracing series....very simply rules, run what you brung, no freaking limits.
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CB 11:54AM (8/05/2009)
If there is a way to keep spectators from dieing from the ensuing high speed carnage, I say do it. I'd watch (wouldn't put my butt in the stands though.)
It would be awesome to see what the engineers could do.
J.Crew 11:44AM (8/05/2009)
Kudos to GM for sticking to common sense on this one. Nascar is crap.
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MikeofLA 11:45AM (8/05/2009)
What a novel idea... Race the cars instead of the stickers "looking" like the cars... Why has there never been a series like that. OH! I have another idea, why don't they push the actual performance and technology of the cars and put some twisties on the track...
/sarcasm
Long Live FIA GT and ALMS.
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juan 12:59PM (8/05/2009)
My frined I agree totally real cars not stickers, and good for GM finally a good comment of a car from part of GM, long life fia gt, alms, le mans series, DTM, fia gt3, and gt4. those are real cars. long life for them !!!!!
Pingwhen 5:05PM (8/05/2009)
I'm sorry but DTM is just as fake as NASCAR. Yes dtm is bad ass. And yes there is alot of real talent there. But no those cars are entirely fake.
WetDogSmell 11:48AM (8/05/2009)
I applaud Chevy for the decision to keep the Camaro's good looks. I'm more of a Ford guy my self and seeing the NASCAR Mustang just hurts my eyes, that thing is awful looking.
PS - Not a fan of NASCAR either...
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Chet 11:49AM (8/05/2009)
They had me right up until "NHRA."
NHRA's funny car and pro stock are worse than NASCAR templates.
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campasini1 12:04PM (8/05/2009)
funny car yes pro stock no.
bobtheowl01 3:54PM (8/05/2009)
I was definitely thinking "Since when did NHRA quit using stickers on generic bodies?" when I read that.